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Multimillion-Dollar 'Berry Fields' Revamp Eyed by Staten Island Pols

By Nicholas Rizzi | October 23, 2015 11:17am | Updated on October 26, 2015 8:49am
 Borough President James Oddo and Councilman Steven Matteo asked the city to put up $4 million to rehab the sports field across the street from the Berry Houses in Dongan Hills.
Borough President James Oddo and Councilman Steven Matteo asked the city to put up $4 million to rehab the sports field across the street from the Berry Houses in Dongan Hills.
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DNAinfo/Nicholas Rizzi

DONGAN HILLS — A sports field opposite NYCHA's Berry Houses could get a multi-million dollar overhaul after Staten Island politicians asked the city to fully fund the upgrades.

The baseball, softball and football fields at Gen. Douglas MacArthur Park — known as the "Berry Fields" — on Jefferson Avenue are in poor condition and need $9 million for repairs and expansion, Borough President James Oddo and Councilman Steven Matteo said.

Oddo contributed nearly $3.3 million from this year's borough budget, while Matteo allocated $500,000. The pair wrote a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this month asking for the rest.

“Literally generations of Staten Islanders have played on the fields at the Berry’s,” Oddo said in a statement. "Unfortunately, they are in sub-standard condition and require significant improvements.

"I am often approached by representatives of various leagues complaining that we don’t have enough fields for their teams. The reality is that there is very little new land on Staten Island on which we can build new fields, which means we must improve and maximize what we currently have.

"These improvements would increase the numbers of teams that could play at the Berry’s, allowing us to better utilize a currently underutilized facility."

With the funds, officials would replace the grass fields with synthetic turf, which would increase the usable space and allow the fields to be used year-round. Officials also hope to turn the existing football field into a multi-use field for football, soccer and lacrosse.

“We believe in this park and know it can be one of the shining jewels of our park network if the proper investments were made in it," Oddo and Matteo wrote in the Oct. 7 letter.

The Parks Department said that the park has had significant investment in the past two decades with close than $800,000 put into it.

"We share the Borough President's and Council Member's goal of improving MacArthur Park and we will be working with our partners in government throughout the budget process," a spokeswoman for the Parks Department said in a statement.

Their goal is to begin work on the field immediately with funds from the Community Parks Initiative, which recently got a $155 million boost. 

"The Berry’s have served the greater East Shore athletic community well for many years, but the fields are in dire need of rehabilitation and modernization to ensure all Staten Island teams who want to utilize them can do so," Matteo said in a statement.

"It is important that we ensure this great athletic complex serves our community for many more years to come."

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.